D: Yep, i'll have another. I would think the fresher this is, the more the experience would improve. I'm gonna think that this would be an excellent choice for a lawnmower or after a long motorcycle-ride-at-dusk kind of beer. Recommended.

More User Reviews:

Pours a straw cior with a pretty good fluffy head,aroma is malty with some fruitiness with the German-like iron aroma.Flavor is softly malty with some nice light fruitiness with a delicate floweriness to it.High quality and easy to drink I would recommend this on a warm summer day for sure

Appearance  Extremely light orange, more like clear with an orangish tint, and a nice, big, foamy head.

Smell  Very light, fruity hop aroma with some out of place notes of grain. This smells like a bad macro.

Taste  The grain is still there but takes a huge step back from the nose, leaving a nice, light hoppy flavor with subtle hints of fruit. Light strawberries (like you licked them but didnt eat them) and maybe green apples come to mind.

Mouthfeel  Light carbonation and light-bodied. Everything about this ale is soft and subtle.

Drinkability  This was nice to drink if you plug your nose.

Comments  This authentic Kolsch ale, brewed in Köln, had some characteristics of a very good example. I thought the appearance was right on target, and the soft fruits playing with the light hops was terrific. It missed the mark in other areas though, especially the aroma. A near miss in my book but a good effort nevertheless.

On tap at Maduro in Madison, WI. Pale straw color, thin white head. Aromas of englsih muffins and straw. Slight fruitiness (pears and apples I think) in the flavor, plenty of bisquits, and just a touch of spice. Very mild and mellow. Easily downable. Wonderfully refreshing. Cant wait to sit on the patio at Maduro and drink this come July! Would make an excellent aperitif. It seems to clean and awaken the palate.

Pour produced a crystal clear pale yellow brew with about two fingers of soapy pure white foam. Head dissipates after several minutes leaving a thin layer of bubbles. Good lacing throughout.

Very light maltiness with an undertone of faint grassy herbal notes, presumably hops. The aroma is pleasant, but light.

Initial taste is crisp & clean, light of body, and rather enjoyable. Flavors include yeasty bread notes and light malt. Bitterness is relatively light and very nicely balanced to the malt. Carbonation is also crisp and seems to match everything well. Finish is quick and clean, with a bit of very pale malt in the beginning and a slight herbal bitterness in the linger.

Overall, this is a nice brew. I don't have a lot of experience with the Kolsch style, but this is very crisp and refreshing. Nice brew!

A 500ml bottle from Chris at Ebenezer's Pub. A great summer beer. Clear yellow, with a small head. Aroma was mostly grain, with a little fruitiness. Grainy taste, again a little fruit, and a nice sharp hops presence. Just the right amount of sharpness. A very pleasant beer to drink.

11/7/07: recently had this on draft at a local restaurant. Would only add that the beer looked great in a stange.

Crystal clear golden, active carbonation and a nice and tight white lace. Mild tropical fruit in the nose. Nice, big, malty palate and unusual for such a light looking beer, but welcomed. Dextrin and fruity sweetness run side by side. Fruit notes are tea-like, a bit peachy? Crisp mouthfeel. Hops are present, but not upfront. Light bread flavours, some grain dryness in the finish.

This is one of THE traditional Kölsch beers out of Germany. You can't really say more than that.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 500 ml bottle into a tall pilsner glass. There appears to be no abv printed on the label.

Appearance: The body is very clear with some visible carbonation and it has a bright golden yellow color. This is topped off with an average white foam head. The fades quickly leaving a wispy thin film layer that sets up at the edge of the glass and makes some lacing.

Smell: As I was pouring I was getting lots of floral and botanical hop notes with just the slightest touch of citrus. This is backed up by light pilsner like maltiness.

Taste / Palate: The flavor matches the aroma but with the light bready/cracker like maltiness up front and the hops finishing up. Overall it’s fairly clean and crisp. It finishes dry and the palate is light and refreshing.

Appearance: Pale golden straw colour with an intense clarity and a bubbly appearance. Head retention holds its own and after a semi-hard pour it yielded a fully white froth then subsided to a delicate lace leaving occasional rings down the glass.

Smell: Clean aroma, some pale malt breadiness with an extremely clean applely vinous note. Thick soft graininess is the bulk of the nose though a faded peppermint like hop comes through.

Taste: Moderate body with a refreshingly crisp mouth feel from the medium high carbonation. Sweet pale malt with a little fresh cut hay and apple woodiness as well as a bit of minty or pine most likely from the hops. Vague suggestion of vanilla and maple. Flavours are meshed with an unbreakable complexity for such a light coloured brew. Dry pretty much from the get go with a full grainy palate. Crispness keeps the mouth clean, hop bitterness is lightly assertive and enhances the dryness. Dry malt character rides far into the finish with remnants of a piney hop.

Notes: Beyond drinkable, this brew is a great way to wet the appetite whether it is before a meal or the beginning of an all night session of drinking.

500 ml bottle pours a clear amber body, with a thick, 2 cm offwhite head. Minimal lacing. Aroma has fresh grass and lemony hops, on top of a smooth malt sweetness. A hint of spearmint is picked up in the background. Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium carbonation. Taste is mostly hoppy lemon and fresh mown hay. The malt is soft and understated, but provides good balance. A decent Kolsch, overall, but I'm not a big fan of this style. Nicely drinkable.

Although two breweries in my town provide their interpretation of the Kölsch style, it's nice to have a real German one once in a while, even if it is exactly eight months past the mindestens haltbar bis date (15.10.06). Also, I'm drinking from a 0,33L bottle, not the halbe Liter bottle pictured above.

A: Clear straw body with a head of very fine bubbles, low-moderate carbonation (also very fine), strong lacing but fairly low head retention. I would have hoped it would hold a head a little bit better.

S: As soon as I started pouring this brew, the strong, distinctive, sweet smell of pear hit me. Pear esters are unusual and pleasing. In the glass, there are aromas of dried apple, slightly grassy-and-skunky Hallertau hops, and possibly date. More fruity than I expected, and quite different from the two locally-brewed Kölsches!

T: This doesn't taste as interesting as it smells. This is clearly a beer that's better consumed fresh - perhaps that's why there's a law in Germany that you can't brew a Kölsch more than 50km from the Cologne Cathedral - so more people will drink it on tap or at least on site.
Anyway, I'm unhappy with this. Based on others' reviews, I'll try it again, but not the way out of date imported variety.

M: From the first sip, the mouthfeel is disappointingly flat. Maybe it's the beer's age, or maybe it tastes like that normally. A pity.

D: It goes down all right, if they all tasted like this I'd probably be sick of Reissdorf after two or three - hopefully I can go and live in Cologne one day and give this ale a more thorough review there!

I bought this as a single at Union Jack's on the Manatawny. I drank it in a pilsne glass.

Pours a bright yellow with tiny little floaters occasionally going by. A two finger head of white bubbles forms, falls to tiny islands and a ring, with scant lacing.

Aroma is of light bready pils malt, maybe very slight DMS, (probably intentional), and barely there spicy hops. Smells great; right on style. Not fruity at all. Smell lasts the whole beer.

Tastes just like it smells. Lightly breadymalt, just there hop bitterness, faint spicy hop flavor, some residual sugar, and not fruity at all. Aftertaste is bready and slightly sweet.

Mouthfeel is low to medium bodied with low to medium carbonation. There is some residual sweetness, but the beer is fairly crisp and refreshing. Finish is short.

If I understand the style correctly, this beer is right on. The delicate flavors are beautifully done, with the malt shining brightly. I really like this beer, and this style. I need to try more kolsch.